Automatic fluid control valve



Patented Feb. 7, 1933 UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE FREDERICK LR. MOTT, F WYNCOTE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIG-NOR OF ONE-THIRD 'TO Ia. AQVON SELDENECK, OF. ELKINS PARK, PENNSYLVANIA, AND ONE-THIRD TO HARRY WEISSINGER Application filed June 16,

Theobject of this invention broadly is to provide improvements in fluid control valves, and especially-in their automatic operation.

Another object more specifically is to. pro- I vide 'a valve which is particularly adapted for use in controlling the flow offuel gas to a burner, as for instance to those burners associated with urns in which coffee, chocolate and similarbeverages are made, also to those burners which'are used to :heat water boilers, and to various forms of contalners employed commercially and in the arts, toheat and maintain substancesat a substantially predetermined temperature. I

Another objectis to provide an improved means for adjusting the spud which supports the gaseous flame beneathor adjacent to urns, other forms of containers, and in general, all articles designed to he so heated; to provide improved means accessible from the exterior 1 of the improved valve for adjusting the'internal mechanism of the same; to provide an improved arrangem nt of heat-expansible medium for operativelyconnecting the valve to the contalner or other artlcle, so as to vary "the gas flow through the former. inaccordancewith the temperature ofthelatter; to provide a simple means;,for adjusting'the pilot flame from the exterior ofthe valve;

and to provideother improvementsin construction I and operation- 1 as will hereinafter appear. 6

Further details of one embodiment of the invention are broughtrout in the following description, when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is Y an elevational view-showing an urn, as repre- Referring to the drawing,there is shown in Fig. 1 an urn -1, which is intended to representany form or typeof container in which} fluids m'ay be heated,.and in fact any article of tubular channels 21,

AUTOMATIC FLUID- CONTROL VALVE 1931. Serial -No. 544,743.

which is intended to. he heated to and maintained at asubstantially predetermined tem: perature. Said container. may be provided with a removable-closure 2 and a hollow bottom portion 3 in which is positioned any suitabletype of burner, such for instance as the burner 4 shown in Fig. 2, said container if desired may be supported upon legs or any other suitable framework 5.

Referring more specifically to Figs. 2 to 5 inclusive, the representative type of burner 4 is shown as, comprising an upwardly positioned. hollow annular. head portion 6, provided with laterally directed-apertures? for the'escape of fuel gas therefrom. Said burner head in addition to being hollow is preferably doughnut-shaped in order to provide a central open area 8 which is shallow andspanned at its lower portion by a wall 9. The lower portion of said burner comprises a flared hollow SBCtlOIlzlO, the outer walls of which .areintegral with the side walls 11 of the hollow central connecting portion 12and are also integralwith the'outsidewalls 13of said head portion. .The lower portionofsaid burner is-spannedby a bottom: wall 14, having a central aperture 15 through which extends an: adjustable spudv or nozzle 16,said bottom wall being provided. uponits lower outer surfacein alignment with said aperturewith a boss 17 which may be an integral extensionof said bottom wall or may be a nut welded, brazed, orv otherwise unitarily .secured thereto. Said :bottom wall is also provided with one or more air inlet apertures 18, the cross section of which is adjustable by means of a rotary apertured disc 19, which s detachably and adjustably secured to said bottom wall by means of abolt or set-screw 20 in the usual manner. Extending through the upper portion of said burner and more specifically through. the outer wa1ls13 and the inner wall 9 of thehead portionis a. plurality which permit air from the outside of said burner to enter the space in the center of the burner surrounded by the circular wall inclosing the central open area 8, so that air from the central portion of the burner head is free to mix with and to facilitate the morecomplete combustion of fuel gas emerging from the apertures 7 instead of such combustion being supported solely by air reaching such gas from the outer side only.

The lower outer end portion of the spud or nozzle 16 extends not only through and in threaded engagement with the boss 17, but also into engagement with a lock nut 22, to wh ch is also connected a nipple 23, the lower end portion of which latter enters a threaded boss 24 of the casing 25 of the improved valve hereinafter described in detail. By this means of connecting said spud to said valve, the position of said spud with respect to the bottom wall 14 of the burner may be adjusted by loosening, setting, and then tightening the lock nut 22, after which said spud will be secured to and in unitary engagement with said burner and will be rotatable therewith without its adjustment being altered.

The valve casing 25 embodies a usually vertically extending channel composed of aligned sections 26 and 27, the first of said sections leading into sa d boss 24 and thereby to the nipple 23, while the other of said channel sections opens into a threaded boss 28, adapted to be connected to a fuel gas supply pipe, said channel sect-ions being connected or disconnected from each other at will by means of a rotary three-way valve stem 29 having a T-shaped channel 30 extending through it.

Said valve casing provided in its upper portion with a horizontally extending channel 31, which leads from the first channel section 26 into a supply-regulating chamber 32, said chamber opening through the upper wall of said casing and being spanned and normally closed by means of a cover plate 33. Preferably carried by and in spaced relation with the under or inner surface 34 of said plate is a flexible diaphragm 35, while leading through said plate from the upper side of said diaphragm is a channel 36 which is con nected by means of a relatively small-bore tube 37 with a hollow head or expansion bulb 38, which in practice is normally in direct contact with the surface indicated by the dotand-dash line 39 of the urn or other container.

Due to the limits imposed by the permissible size of the accompanying drawing, it must be explained that the dot-and-dash line 40, representing the under surface of the urn or other container above the burner 4 is in practice at the same height as the horizontally extending dot-and-dash line 40' beneath the expansion bulb 38, or in other words, said expansion bulb is normally relatively higher than shown in Fig. 2, so that the line 40 forms a continuation of the line 40. This being the case, that portion 39 of the dot-and-dash line 39 represents the radial extent of the lower portion 3 of the urn shown in Fig. 1 and to which the bracket 41 is secured by means of a bolt 42. Said bracket preferably comprises a head 43 from which extends laterally an annular flange 44 within which the bulb 38 is normally positioned, the lower portion of said flange being broken away at 45 to permit the passage of the tube 37 therothrough, said tube also being supported and restrained against undue lateral movement and vibration by a pair of lugs 46 carried by and extending laterally from the lower portion of said bracket, and providing an intervening space 47 through which said tube extends.

The lower portion of the valve casing 25 is provided in turn with a normally h orizontally extending channel 48, which is adapted to communicate as shown with the channel 30 in the valve stem 29. This channel 48 is separated from the channel 41 by means of a partition 49, through which extends a threaded aperture 50 in alignment with a threaded aperture 51 in the lower wall 52 of said casing. Positioned adjustably within these aligned apertures is a tubular member 53 provided upon its upper end with an enlarged cylindrical head 54 which is adapted to be in contact with the diaphragm 35 when r the latter is in its lowermost position, said head 54 inclosing a chamber 55 into which leads the axial bore 56 of said member, said member also being provided with radially extending bores 57 which leads into said axial I 1 bore and being closed at its lower end 58 and provided with a wrench-engageable end portion 59, which is normally protected by means of a cup 60 in threaded engagement with the outer surface of said member 53. i

The casing channel 48 extends from the valve stem 30 somewhat beyond the aligned threaded apertures 50 and 51 and opens through a restricted aperture 61 into an upwardly extending bore 62, said aperture be ing variably opened and closed by means of an adjustable needle valve 63, which extends through and in threaded engagement with the far wall 64 of said valve casing, said valve member being also protected by means of a removable cup-shaped member 65 in threaded engagement with a boss 66, carried by said casing and through which said needle valve axially extends. It is to be understood that the area between the diaphragm 35 and cover plate 33 is filled with a suitable thermo-expansible liquid which may be inserted therein through the opening 67 in said cover plate normally closed by means of a plug or the like 68, said liquid extending through the channel 36, tube 37 and into the expansion bulb 38. Having this in mind and also the construction ice and arrangement of the valve details as herethrough the boss 28 will pass by said valve stem and through the aligned channel sections 27 and 26, through the outlet boss 24, nipple 23, and spud or nozzle 16, into the burner 14, where said gas mixes with air entering through the aperture 18 and passes from the outlets 7 where it may be ignited and will burn adjacent to and heat the under surface of said urn or the like, represented by the dot-and-dash line 40. This condition may be maintained as long as desired, as for instance while the contents of the ,urn are being drawn ofl and colder liquids inserted therein, such as during the rush hours at meal times in a restaurant. The flame of course may be extinguished by turning the valve stem 29 so that it blocks the channel section 27 and thus prevents the passage of fuel gas into said valve casing.

On the other hand, when the automatic operation of the device is desired, said valve stem is turned into the position shown in Fig. 2, so that fuel gas enters the channel section 27, passes through the valve stem channel 30, channel 48, bores 57 and 56 within the adjustable member 53, and thence past the diaphragm 35 raised into the dot-and-dash position 35 and thence by Way of the channed 31 and boss 24 into said burner as hereinbefore described. As the contents of the urn or the like 1 rise to a predetermined temperature, the heat thereof is transmitted directly to the hollow expansion bulb 38 and the liquid therein, thereby expanding said liquid and forcing it downwardly through the tube 37 and above the diaphragm 35, which is thereby pressed into its lower position against the head 54 of the adjustable member 53, thereby shutting off the relatively free flow of fuel gas and lowering the flame above the burner 4. However, instead of the flame being entirely extinguished, it will continue to burn at a predetermined height, representing in fact a pilot flame, which is adjustable by means of the needle valve 63, since fuel gas will continue to pass through the channel 48, transversely through the bores 57, aperture 61, bore 62, and thence into the chamber 32 and from it through the channel 31 onward to said burner. Finally, when the temperature of the contents of the urn cool below predetermined temperature, said expansible liquid will contract until it raises the diaphragm 35 away from the head 54 and permits the gas to flow, as first de scribed, to said burner, increasing the size of,

flame and again heating said urns contents. The temperature at which the contents of said urn or other container is to be maintained may be varied by removing the cup 60 and adjusting the protruding head 59 of the member 53, so as to vary the height of the head 54 with respect to the normal position of the diaphragm 35, in other words, raising said member 53 providing for a lower temperature and lowering said member providing for a higher temperature within said urn.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. The combination of a valve casing, means to regulate the flow of fuel therethrough, a hollow member adapted to be positioned adjacent to an extraneous article,atube connecting the interior of said member with said fuel regulatingmeans, a heat expansible fluid within said member and said tube, operative to vary said means in accordance with the temperature of such article, and'a bracket having a recess for said member and adapted to secure said member in fixed relation to such article, said bracket also having spaced lugs between which said tube is normally positioned in order to prevent its relative moveand said tube extending through said opening, said bracket also having spaced lugs between which said tube is normally positioned in order to prevent its relative movement and vibration.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature.

FREDERICK R. MOTT. 

